.jpg/466px-07_Gr%C3%A9goire_XI_(couronn%C3%A9_par_Guy_de_Boulogne).jpg) |
| Guy de Boulogne crowning Pope Gregory XI |
The Return of the Durazzo Menace
Louis of
Taranto was determined to marry his brother Philip to the widowed Maria. He attempted
to circumvent Cardinal Talleyrand’s influence by using Cardinal Guy de Boulogne[i]. Pressed by Talleyrand, Innocent
refused to give the necessary dispensation for the marriage. The pope also
demanded that Louis of Taranto release Joanna’s nieces properties to the
Durazzo family, which Louis refused to do.
In an
attempt to end the stalemate Philip of Taranto married Maria, hoping that the
pope would change his mind. The pope refused to change his mind and
excommunicated Joanna and Louis of Taranto, for failing to pay the annual
tribute, and placed the country under interdict.
To make
matters worse Sybil del Balzo had taken Robert of Durazzo prisoner in
retaliation for the death of Robert del Balzo[ii]. Robert escaped and
attacked one of the del Balzo castles in Provence and laid the area around Les Baux to waste.
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| Les Baux |
Louis of Durazzo with the
aid of one of the Pipini brothers led an army of mercenaries into the kingdom
of Naples and fomented civil war with;
‘Twenty five hundred
well-mounted, well-armed barbarians, a large number of horsemen and looters on
old horses and beasts of burden, one thousand scoundrels and crooks and
courtesans and a motley crew of six thousand men in all.’[iii]
The rebels
made camp in Apulia.
Bartering Wives
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| Chateau des Baux |
For lack of
ready money Joanna was reduced to offering Guy de Boulogne the hand of her
niece Jeanne, Duchess of Durazzo, as wife for his nephew Godfrey. Guy accepted
and his attempts to influence Innocent were aided by the antics of the Durazzo brothers.
On May 2nd
1355 Innocent began excommunication proceedings against Robert of Durazzo and
on 20th lifted the interdict against Naples. Innocent sent a
personal representative to participate in the siege of the Chateau des Baux; it took two months to overcome
Robert’s forces. Joanna then had to pay the mercenaries to leave her kingdom
and they took service with the Visconti family of Milan.
By the time
Niccolo returned to Sicily in September 1356, with more grain to bribe the
starving peasants. Louis II had died and his 14 year old brother Frederick[iv] was now king. Messina greeted
Niccolo with open arms. Joanna arrived in Messina with Louis of Taranto on 24th
December and the couple were installed as king and queen the following day,
having finally achieved one of her family’s long-term goals.
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| Castell Ursino, Catania |
Joanna
stayed in Sicily for eight months, to consolidate her rule. In agreement with
the faction that had invited her intervention, all administrators were chosen
from the faction’s ranks. Attempts to overcome the pro-Spanish faction were inconclusive
despite a raid on Catania by
the Neapolitan fleet. Joanna offered Frederick her niece Margherita as his
wife.
Attack on Provence
The Durazzo
family were incensed by Joanna’s determination to use her nieces as pawns in
the power struggle erupting in southern Europe. Louis of Durazzo petitioned
Innocent for redress.
But Innocent
was powerless. The recent events at Poitiers left Jean II, king of France as a prisoner in England[v] and the Dauphin was only 18. Mercenaries ran unimpeded throughout France and
one of the most notorious, the Archpriest[vi], was poised to invade Provence.
‘The Archpriest, took
command of a large company of men-at-arms….they therefore went towards
Provence, where they took a number of fortified towns and castles and plundered
the whole country as far as Avignon. Pope Innocent VII and his cardinals….were
in such fear.’[vii]
As the
Archpriest’s men looted her lands in Provence Joanna returned to Naples.
Panicking Innocent gave the necessary dispensation for Philip of Taranto’s
marriage to Maria. In September 1358 Innocent treated with the Archpriest and
bribed him with one thousand florins[viii] to withdraw permanently
from Provence.
The
following spring saw Talleyrand return from his mission to England and he
reminded Innocent that Joanna had not returned Maria’s daughters to the care
and control of the Durazzo family. Innocent renewed the interdict on the
kingdom of Naples and on 21st April 1359 named the Spanish cardinal Gil Alvarez Carillo de Albornoz as legate.
The Legate
 |
| Cardinal Albornoz |
Joanna and
Louis of Taranto had already angered the new legate even before Albornoz
arrived in Italy. Fighting in the Papal States and against the Visconti in Milan, Albornoz had made much
use of the Free Companies; a move decried by Florence and
Naples. To appease Innocent Joanna put together as much as she could find to
pay her annual tribute to the pope.
In March
1360 Niccolo Acciaiouli took what monies were available to Avignon and by May
had succeeded in having the interdict overturned and the appointment of a
legate revoked. Innocent was impressed by Niccolo and awarded him the Golden Rose and appointed him papal ambassador to Milan. Despite an
offer of 100,000 florins[ix] to come to terms with the
pope, Visconti refused Niccolo’s attempts at peace.
In the
spring of 1360 Louis of Durazzo launched a further attempt at rebellion from
his base in Apulia. Louis of Taranto took to the field against his cousin,
besieging and destroying the castles of many of the Durazzo supporters. Louis
of Durazzo was forced to come to terms and hand over his three year old son Charles to be brought up at Joanna’s court;
a hostage for his father’s good behaviour.
The Siege of Avignon and After
 |
| Sir John Hawkwood |
On 28th
December 1360 along with a number of other companies Sir John Hawkwood and his White Company[x] arrived in Pont Saint-Esprit to besiege Avignon. By March the companies were en
route to Italy, having been paid off by Innocent to the tune of 60,000 francs[xi]. Innocent was paying
Hawkwood to attack Innocent’s enemy, Bernabo Visconti in Milan.
‘On payment of sixty
thousand francs by the pope and cardinals several captains of companies, such
as Sir John Hawkwood, a fine English knight….and several others gave up
Pont-Saint-Esprit and went off to Lombardy.’[xii]
In reply
Visconti withdrew from fighting Cardinal Albornoz outside of Bologna. Albornoz’
Hungarian mercenaries, no longer needed to protect the church’s interests, were
quickly contracted by Louis of Durazzo. By March 1361 Louis’ mercenary army was
ready in Abruzzi to lead a revolt against Joanna and
Louis of Taranto.
 |
| Monte Sant'Angelo sul Gargano |
By May
Niccolo Acciaiouli had managed to bribe the Hungarians into Joanna’s service.
By December Niccolo had redirected their energies against Milan. Louis of
Durazzo sought refuge at the sanctuary of Monte Sant’ Angelo sul Gargano. Fleeing from there Louis was
captured and taken to Naples. On 6th February 1362 he prostrated
himself before his cousins before being thrown into the Castel dell’Ovo.
Husband Number Three
Three months
later one of his opponents was dead; Louis of Taranto died on 24th
May, a victim of the resurgent plague. Worried that Philip of Taranto might
make a bid for power Joanna kept Louis’ death secret until she had taken full
control of the court. Joanna can hardly have mourned the death of one who so
openly brutalised her.
Now the race
was on to find a new husband; Philip and Robert of Taranto (both married men)
were concerned that Joanna’s would choose Louis of Durazzo as her next husband;
‘They obtained letters from
her with the assurance that she would not marry Louis….they imposed a guard who
then poisoned him [Louis of Durazzo] with some concoction.’[xiii]
Louis died
sometime in June or July 1362; Joanna now made a point of singling out Charles
of Durazzo in an attempt to counter the loathed Taranto family influence at
court.
 |
| Philip the Bold |
Desperate
for an heir Joanna began the search for a new husband; both France and Milan
sent ambassadors. The French embassy was supported by the pope, but Joanna had
no intention of marrying the 20 year old Philip[xiv]. She was fortunate that Innocent
died in September 1362 and was succeeded by Urban V who was a compromise candidate.
The day
after his coronation Urban issued Joanna with permission to remarry; on 14th
December Joanna committed herself to marry James IV, King of Majorca[xv]. Joanna married James in May 1363.
Bibliography
Chronicles –
Froissart, Penguin Classics 1968
The Holy
Roman Empire – Friedrich Heer, Phoenix 1995
Joanna –
Nancy Goldstone, Phoenix 2010
Absolute
Monarchs – John Julius Norwich, Random House 2011
Hawkwood –
Frances Stonor Saunders, Faber & Faber 2004
A Distant
Mirror – Barbara Tuchman, MacMillan London Ltd 1989
The Flower
of Chivalry – Richard Vernier, The Boydell Press 2003
www.wikipedia.en
[i]
To become Talleyrand’s chief rival for influence over the pope. He had long
been a supporter of Joanna’s
[ii]
Although Robert had nothing to do with her nephew’s death
[iii]
Joanna - Goldstone
[iv]
Known as the Simple
[v]
Cardinal Talleyrand was sent to England in an attempt to ransom Jean II
[vii]
Chronicles - Froissart
[viii]
In 2013
the relative: historic standard of living
value of that income or wealth is £608,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £19,820,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £238,500,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[ix]
In 2013
the relative: historic standard of living
value of that income or wealth is £62,850,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £1,945,000,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £23,500,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[x]
The company numbered 3,500 horsemen and
2,000 foot soldiers
[xi]
In 2013
the relative: historic standard of living
value of that income or wealth is £37,710,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £1,167,000,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £14,100,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[xii]
Chronicles - Froissart
[xiii]
Joanna - Goldstone
[xiv]
Duke of Burgundy
[xv]
James had only recently escaped from the clutches of Peter IV of Aragon who now
ruled Majorca
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